Children sometimes complain walking is tiring, even boring, and let’s be fair, rambling is harder on little legs than adult ones.
The secret is to add a few temptations along the route: the promise of a cafe, a rest on an exciting mode of transport and some points of interest along the way. How about a miniature railway, a cable car or a canal boat combined with a walk?
Here are three rambles full of interest that will surely keep children on board, if you’ll excuse the pun.
On the Peak District fringes, just outside Leek, you’ll discover a circular walk with plenty of interest to entice reluctant kids.
Starting from the railway car park at Rudyard Lake, jump on board the miniature railway (risr.org), running weekends and holidays. It chugs along the eastern shore of the reservoir (Rudyard Lake is a bit of a misnomer) for just over a mile.
Alighting at the end of the line, continue along the waterside in the same direction until you come to a left turn. The track cuts across the north end of the reservoir through marsh and woodland, then twists round to continue above the west side of the water.
The track veers away from the water’s edge to climb through green pastures. Look out for a sign on the left that takes you off the track and over grass into woodland. It heads past the Grade II listed Cliffe Park Hall, a lovely castle-like dwelling that’s sadly in a neglected state presently.
Continue through Rea Cliffe Wood. If the children are flagging at this point, remind them ice-cream is just a short distance away: Rudyard Sailing Club offers waterside seating on its terrace and serves generous scoops of ice-cream. Lunch is also an option.
Continue along the lane with its gorgeous waterside villas, including the romantic Lady of the Lake, a bridge linking the house, surrounded by water, with the land. (It’s best seen from the railway on the other side of the reservoir).
There are other Swiss-style chalets and Victorian and more modern dwellings with boat houses beneath them on this side of the lake. It’s hard not to have property envy.
Leave the road behind as you turn a corner, taking a pathway on the left. It skirts round a caravan site and out onto a lane. Look out for a narrow path on the left that cuts down to the waterside and Rudyard Lake Cafe.
There are plenty of options to finish a great day out. You can hire Canadian-style canoes, kayaks, rowing boats or take a cruise on Frolic 31, an Edwardian-style leisure boat – or quench your thirst at the cafe, also with waterside seating.
Don’t forget to visit the boathouse visitor centre with its exhibits of the lake’s history (Rudyard Kipling’s parents came courting here – hence the writer’s name). There are pictures of the African Blondin, who walked the high wire over the lake in Victorian times (and Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, who did a demonstration swim in the reservoir). There’s a fantastic wooden carving of the African Blondin on his high wire outside the visitor centre as well, perched here on a tree stump.
From the cafe, head across the dam head, detouring left a short distance to visit the second boathouse (also with a little balcony). It tells the story of the reservoir and its boats.
From here, head south again to return to the railway station car park. Minus the miniature railway ride, the walk is just over four miles.
This is one of my all-time favourite rambles in the Peak District fringes, one I heartedly recommend, with or without children.
RECOMMENDED READING
- Peakland meets Lakeland - From the Roaches to Rudyard and Tittesworth reservoirs
- Everything you need to know about visiting Heights of Abraham
- Exploring the history and delights of Matlock, Matlock Bath and Cromford
What can be more exciting than a cable-car ride, a rarity in the UK? As the Heights of Abraham cable-car soars above the A6 in Matlock Bath, pausing to dangle mid-air, before carrying on to the cave attraction high above the Derwent Valley, a thrilling adventure begins for the young and young-at-heart.
From here the ramble heads downhill all the way into Matlock, passing an enchanting Arts & Crafts church with fairy-tale oriel window and turret, more Bavarian in appearance than English.
Parking at Matlock Bath Railway Station (charge), take the path to the cable-car. At Heights of Abraham (charge), children can enjoy cavern tours, a round tour with panoramic views, an elongated slide and hillside cafe with dizzying balcony eating.
Having explored the attraction, head out the back entrance to Tinker’s Shaft viewpoint, taking in the bird’s-eye views of Riber Castle, High Tor and up the Derwent Valley. The bushes beyond Tinker’s Shaft are also great for wild raspberry picking in the season.
Follow the footpath downhill through woodland then past Masson Farm. Eventually, a narrow footpath descends along the stone wall of a dwelling to St John’s Road, an idyllic quiet lane.
Pass the ‘Hansel and Gretel’ St. John the Baptist church, descending to the A6. Turn left and cross the road to the metal bridge. Traverse it and follow the riverside path to Knowleston Gardens. Cross the arched Monet-style bridge and turn left into Knowleston Place and on into Hall Leys Park.
There are more delights for children in this Matlock park: playground, splash park, boating lake and cafe. In town there are more cafes in which to recuperate before crossing the town bridge to the railway station.
With the bonus of a train ride back to the railway car park in Matlock Bath, and a promise of fish and chips in the ‘Blackpool’ of landlocked Derbyshire with its riverside promenade, what child could not love this easy 1.5-mile walk?
How about a canal boat ride, a Wind-in-the-Willows experience along the waterway, and a woodland hunt for carved animals above a fairy-tale cottage? This is a charming ramble for adults and children alike.
Parking at Cromford Mills (some free roadside parking or plentiful paid parking by the canal), hitch a lift on Birdswood (check birdswood.org for trip times).
Disembark at High Peak Junction or Leawood Pump House (the operation of the great machinery an impressive sight on opening days, middleton-leawood.org.uk/leawood).
Just a short distance on, you’ll come across Aqueduct Cottage. Explore the cottage, if open, with its photographic displays upstairs. Learn about the history of the cottage, then head up into Lea Wood Nature Reserve behind it, and follow its Sculpture Trail. A badger, fox, rabbit and a host of other animals, mini beasts and woodland flora are lurking in the woods – frozen in carved wood.
Returning to the canal, head back to High Peak Junction with the promise of an ice-cream or drink. If you are extremely lucky, you might catch sight of a water vole or colourful kingfisher; more likely you’ll happen on ducks, moorhens, little grebes or coots.
Continue by the canal towpath back to Cromford Mills. If your little ones are flagging, there’s a waterside cafe at the end of the canal on this 3.5-mile walk (not including the boat-trip section).
